The Effects of an Inservice Training Program for Cooperating Teachers on the Supervision of Student Teachers in an Urban School System

The primary task of this research was to develop, implement, and evaluate an inservice training program designed to provide cooperating teachers with supervisory skills. The research design employed to evaluate this study utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods and procedures. Quantitative methods included a quasi-experimental design with the inservice training program as the independent variable and the posttest measure of cooperating teacher effectiveness as the dependent variable. Participants in the investigation were 42 student teacher triads--student teachers from two large urban universities, their cooperating teachers in schools providing placements for the student teaching experience and their university supervisors. The 21 cooperating teachers who participated in the inservice training program were matched on a number of relevant variables with 21 cooperating teachers who received no inservice training. The inservice training program consisted of 13 hours of preparation in orientation, communication, knowledge, and supervision with an emphasis on the supervisory process incorporating methods of clinical supervision. A two hour follow-up session was held approximately three weeks into the student teaching experience. Quantitative data analysis employed the Cooperating Teacher Performance Profile administered to both student teachers and university supervisors and the Cooperating Teacher Survey administered to the cooperating teachers. A t-test for related measures comparing the student teachers\u27 evaluation of the cooperating teachers as supervisors and as model teachers was significant at the p \u3c.01 level for both criteria. There was no significant difference in the university supervisors\u27 evaluations or in the cooperating teachers\u27 perceptions regarding their supervision. Qualitative content analysis of weekly progress reports from a group of student teachers supported a difference between the supervision provided by the cooperating teachers receiving the inservice preparation and that of the cooperating teachers who did not receive training. Further analysis indicated that the student teachers\u27 overall perceptions of the student teaching experience were more positive for the trained cooperating teachers and reflected aspects of the inservice training program. Implications of the results as well as suggestions for further research pertaining to the training of cooperating teachers were discussed

A comparative study between gaming and non-gaming food and beverage operations using Management by Values as an analytical tool

This thesis analyzes gaming and non-gaming hotel restaurants to determine whether there is a need to reevaluate food and beverage operations in gaming hotel restaurants due to the changing trends in the economy and changing consumer demands; Management by Values is used as an analytical tool to determine if gaming hotel restaurants should follow the trend non-gaming hotel operations have established and reorganize their food and beverage operations. A questionnaire followed by a personal interview was used to gather information and Management by Values is used to evaluate the information; The final results proved that gaming operations do not need to re-evaluate operations due to the high level of consistency in profit making centers

Building a PSU ETHOS

This white paper is about responsive change in higher education where integrative engagement replaces silo-centric traditions and all constituent voices are part of the transformation as they co-create a new educational landscape that leads with the student experience. At Plymouth State University, designing, building, and engaging the integrated cluster initiative invites students, faculty, staff, alumni, business partners, community partners, and partners beyond our local borders to co-create our future citizens, leaders, the educational landscape, local and global communities, and the local and global marketplace. By leading with the student experience, we are learner centric in all aspects of academic and administrative experiences. This provides a framework for how we get there. Working from the book length manuscript, ETHOS vision: Commitment, action, and self-transformation in higher education (Nancy Puglisi and Cheryl B. Baker, 2016), ETHOS stands for: E –Education, T-Teaching, H-Habitat, O-Organizations, and S-Society. We advance two conceptual lenses in this manuscript that we believe will help us envision our individual transformation as we engage organizational transformation. The first conceptual lens has to do with becoming an Educateur, which is a transformational professional within the academy, facilitating learning in the classroom, and actively engaging in the change processes within the organization. An Educateur is responsible, not only for the learning of their students and their own learning but also the environment within which they teach. It is essential that faculty embrace dualistic, Educateurial roles of teacher and organizational transformation emissary. The Educateur co-creates innovative venues in the classroom and within the organization to accomplish an imaginative, reflective, and contemplative environment. The focus for the changes within the classroom and the organization should include: experiential, integrative, community-based and transformational practices restructuring the classroom and the institution to meet the needs of students and the larger external community. The second conceptual lens involves shifting our approach to our teaching methodology from teaching children to teaching young adults. Using the landmark work of Malcom Knowles that identifies six assumptions about the adult learner, we can begin to envision new approaches to teaching and learning that shifts from a teacher-centric model typical with teaching children to a learner-centric model that facilitates learning by self-direction, building on student previous experiences, enabling the learner to co-create their learning, and instead of learning for a test, the learner learns with a different purpose such as to solve a problem or to touch the world around them. By seeing our students as young adults instead of children, we can better meet their diverse learning styles and needs, enhance their learning experience, enable them to own and co-create their educational experiences, and cultivate a mindset of lifelong learning. For further consideration of these ideas, we hope the attached paper is helpful. This paper is not intended as an exhaustive exploration of approaches to teaching. We are intending to identify two significant dispositions that are aligned with our current organizational life, the Educateur and teaching young adult learners

Marketing with More: An In-depth Look at Relationship Marketing with New Media in the Green Industry

Garden-center businesses have unique challenges related to the marketing of products. New and social media offer a way for garden-center operators to connect with customers and market products online in an effort to compete with box stores. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how some garden-center businesses use social media and email marketing to build relationships with customers. Findings from eight in-depth interviews indicate garden-center stakeholders believe they are practicing relationship marketing through their e-newsletter and Facebook accounts. However, strategic planning is limited to an e-newsletter, marketing efforts show characteristics of one-way communication, and strategic measurement is absent. Lack of measurement could hinder the formation of profitable relationships. Owners, employees, and customers place high importance on educational content shared via social networks, but view advertising through new media differently. It is recommended garden-center owners and employees implement relationship-marketing techniques based on strategic measurement and planning to produce loyal brand advocates

Angiogenesis: An update and potential drug approaches

The therapeutic potential of targeting tumor endothelium and vascular supply is now widely recognized to treat different diseases. One such disease is cancer; where endothelial cells are actively proliferating to support the tumor growth. Solid tumors cannot grow beyond the size of a few millimeters without inducing the proliferation of endothelium and formation of new blood vessels. Hence it is crucial to search for new agents that selectively block tumor blood supply. These include anti-angiogenic molecules, vascular disrupting agents or endothelial disrupting agents. The anti-angiogenic molecules such as monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors disrupt endothelial cell survival mechanisms and new blood vessel formation, and vascular disrupting agents for instance ligand-directed and small molecules can be used to disrupt the already existing abnormal vasculature that support tumors by targeting their dysmorphic endothelial cells. The recent advances in this area of research have identified a variety of investigational agents which are currently in clinical development at various stages and some of these candidates are already approved in cancer treatment. This report will review some of the recent developments and most significant advances in this field and outline future challenges and directions

Rewarding Relationships: A Quasi-Experimental Design Evaluating the Impact of an Extension Public Relations Seminar

While Extension communication units have seen success in implementing brand strategies to raise awareness of Extension, the public value and need for Extension programming continue to be misunderstood. College students have the potential to ensure the future of Extension is viable. To expose undergraduate students to the brand and value of Extension, a public relations seminar was developed and delivered by a state Extension specialist to 95 students enrolled in an agricultural technical writing course at a land-grant university. The seminar served as a treatment in the quasi-experimental design, which included information about the land-grant mission, Extension resources, and potential careers related to Extension. Findings revealed that the public relations seminar had a significant impact on the students’ awareness and value of Extension and their consideration of Extension as a career. Implications from this study support strategic public relations having a positive, short-term impact on students’ perceptions of Extension. While future research should explore the long-term impacts of public relations on students’ perceptions of Extension, it is recommended that Extension professionals and agricultural communicators implement public relations activities targeting undergraduate students and use brand advocates, like Extension specialists, to elevate the brand

The built environment predicts observed physical activity

Background: In order to improve our understanding of the relationship between the built environment and physical activity, it is important to identify associations between specific geographic characteristics and physical activity behaviors. Purpose: Examine relationships between observed physical activity behavior and measures of the built environment collected on 291 street segments in Indianapolis and St. Louis. Methods: Street segments were selected using a stratified geographic sampling design to ensure representation of neighborhoods with different land use and socioeconomic characteristics. Characteristics of the built environment on-street segments were audited using two methods: in-person field audits and audits based on interpretation of Google Street View imagery with each method blinded to results from the other. Segments were dichotomized as having a particular characteristic (e.g., sidewalk present or not) based on the two auditing methods separately. Counts of individuals engaged in different forms of physical activity on each segment were assessed using direct observation. Non-parametric statistics were used to compare counts of physically active individuals on each segment with built environment characteristic. Results: Counts of individuals engaged in physical activity were significantly higher on segments with mixed land use or all non-residential land use, and on segments with pedestrian infrastructure (e.g., crosswalks and sidewalks) and public transit. Conclusion: Several micro-level built environment characteristics were associated with physical activity. These data provide support for theories that suggest changing the built environment and related policies may encourage more physical activity

Evaluation of a Simulation-Based Interprofessional Educational Module on Adult Suctioning Using Action Research

AbstractBackground: Interprofessional collaboration in healthcare contributes to patientwell-being. The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate an innovative interprofessional simulation educational module for pre-licensure healthcare students on adult suctioning skills.Methods and Findings: Two suctioning scenarios were developed to provide multiprofessional groups of students the opportunity to collaborate in applying basicsuctioning skills within complex patient care situations. One group of nursing students (N= 23) and one group of physiotherapy students (N= 23) learned suctioning skills uniprofessionally in the usual programs of their respective schools. A third group of students (N= 45; 21 nursing, 24 physiotherapy) learned suctioning in the new, interprofessional simulation-based curriculum. Qualitative data were collected through direct observation of laboratory sessions, open-ended surveys, and focus groups. A thematic qualitative analysis was conducted, and four major themes emerged: instructors’ role expectations, prior student learning, student collaboration, and instructor communication. In addition, quantitative analysis of students’ readiness for interprofessional collaboration, confidence, and performance of suctioning skills revealed no significant differences between learners in the interprofessional labs and those in the uniprofessional labs.Conclusions: Development of the educational module using action research allowed for further development of a pedagogical approach to interprofessional education to increase its effectiveness